Runaway
by Mrs-diAngelo25
Summary: Keegan was just a normal, 13 year old boy until one fateful day in his life. Well, two fateful days, actually. The first was when he met that awful woman, Denise. That day started it all. Join him on his difficult, obstacle filled, journey on finding out who he really is. Rated T for language, drug use, and domestic abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Runaway**  
**Chapter 1**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Keegan, darling! Come here please." my mother calls.

I slide away from my laptop and get up from my desk chair. I was relieved to have an excuse to get away from that history report. My dyslexia was acting up big-time.

I walk out of my room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. I find my mom and dad sitting in the kitchen nook with some lady I had never met before.

"Keegan, this is Denise." my mom says.

The lady turns around and I see that she's around my parents age, thirty or thirty-five. Her dark brown hair was long and straight, falling at about the bottom of her rib-cage. Her face was angular and her cheekbones stuck out. Her eyes were a very dark blue and cold as ice.

"Hello." I say, sitting down beside my dad.

"Hello, Keegan." she says.

She sounded friendly, but I could hear a tone of disgust in her voice when she said my name, almost as if I were a sewer rat or something. My parents didn't seem to notice this. Maybe I just imagined it.

"Your father and I thought it was about time we introduced you to Denise." mom says.

"Erm, why?" I ask.

"Well, because Denise is your god-mother." dad says, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh." I say, surprised. I didn't know I had a god-mom.

"Well, it was, um, nice meeting you, but I need to get back to my history homework." I say, getting up from my seat.

"Now, hold on Keegs. We need to tell you something else." dad says.

"Okay." I say, sitting back down.

"Your mother and I are going on a trip to Ashville for the weekend on business and Denise is going to stay here with you, so you two can get to know each other." he says.

"Oh." I say. I wasn't all too psyched to be baby-sat by a stranger for the whole weekend.

I was 13 for God's sake, I was old enough to stay the weekend by myself. Of course, I'm not going to say this out loud with Denise here.

"Okay. Can I go back to my room now?" I ask.

My mom sighs and then nods her head.

I get up from my chair and quickly exit the kitchen, making my way down the hall and back into my room.

I sit back down at my desk and stare my computer screen. There was something bothering me about Denise. She just seemed off. Like maybe she was acting for my parents.

I shake my head, putting the thought aside, and go back to my paper. This thing had to be done by tomorrow and I only had 200 out of the 1,500 words written. If my dyslexia kept acting up, I'd never get it finished.

* * *

"Okay Keegan, we're leaving. Denise should be here in about twenty minutes, there's enough money in the cash jar for food for the weekend and there's also leftovers in the fridge." mom says, walking past me with her suitcase.

"Okay mom." I say.

My dad walks past me as well and ruffles my light brown hair, causing it to fall into my eyes. I squint and fix it, brushing it to the side.

"See you Sunday night, Keegs. Maybe we can go to the batting cages after I get back, huh?" he asks.

"Yea, that would be fun. See you then." I say, waving.

The front door closes and a few minutes later I hear the car start. I sit on the couch and watch TV while waiting for Denise to get here.

* * *

"Kid, wake up!" someone says, shaking my shoulder rather roughly.

I open my eyes and see that I'm still on the couch. The TV was still on, but a different show was on and it was nearly dark outside. I must have fallen asleep. I look up and see that Denise was the one shaking my shoulder.

"Oh, hi Denise." I say, sitting up.

"Okay, I'm going to explain to you what's going to happen this weekend." she says, crossing her arms.

"First, you are not allowed to come out of your room unless you need access to the bathroom or if you need to eat." she says.

"But I can get to my bathroom through my bedroom." I say.

"Okay then, you're not allowed to come out of your room except for meal times." she says, rolling her eyes.

"Second, I don't want you making any noise. That means no music, no TV, and no friends over." she says.

"Third, if you come out of your room and it's not time to eat, you will be punished. I want this weekend to go by as fast as possible and not have to listen to you jabber on and on." she says.

I nod.

"Well, go on. Go to bed." she says, shooing me out of the living room.

I glumly stalk into the kitchen before heading into my room. I open the fridge and pull out a couple of cheese sticks and a bottle of water.

I knew she had been acting.

* * *

"Hey, kid! Wake up!" Denise shouts, banging on my door.

I groan and squint open my eyes. Little pieces of sunlight were glinting into my room through the window. I look at the clock on my nightstand and see that it's just past nine.

I swing myself out of bed and start getting dressed. I wondered if I could sneak out and go to Oliver's house or the beach. Probably not. Denise would most likely make me do house work all day.

Oliver is my best friend. I've only known him for a little over a year, but he's still my best friend. We do practically everything together. If one of the teachers at school assigns a group project, they all know that we get paired together.

"Goddammit, Keegan! Get your ass out here right now!" Denise yells.

I sigh and open my door, heading into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"What took you so long?" she asks, placing her hands on her hips.

"I was getting dressed." I say, pouring a glass of orange juice.

"Like hell you were. It doesn't take that long to get dressed." she says.

"I'm telling the truth!" I protest.

She walks over to me, looks at my glass of juice, and then knocks it out of my hand. The juice splashes all over the tile floor and the glass shatters.

"Hey!" I say.

"Clean it up. It was _your_ orange juice, after all." she says, shrugging.

I give her my best death glare and then carefully walk over to the drawer where we kept all the dish cloths. I then start picking up the shards of glass and putting them in the trash can, then I mop up the rest with the rag.

"Satisfied?" I ask.

"Not quite. I want you to clean the whole house." she says, turning away from me and heading into the living room.

"That's not fair!" I protest, walking after her.

"I don't care. I'm in charge of you for the weekend, and what I say, goes." she says, giving me a smug look. I knew she was right, and I hated it.

"Fine." I growl.

I go to the closet next to the washroom where all the cleaning supplies were kept and pull out the broom and the mop. I look down at them and sigh. I guess this is what it was going to be like until tomorrow night.

**A/N:**

**Hey guys! If you're new to my stories, I suggest going and reading my series "The Shadows of Revolution" before you go much further into this one. If you don't, it might get a bit confusing towards the ending because there are things in that series that'll tie into this story. **

**If you're ****_not _****new to my stories and have come directly from TSoR, welcome back and enjoy the ride! I can't wait to see what y'all think of this!**

**Yesterday was extremely long and tiring. And I've discovered that reading fanfics and replying to PMs on your phone is exhausting. Much, much easier on my laptop. But, I got to drive for a while every now and then, so I wasn't entirely bored the whole 14 hours back home. **

**It's good to be back home and starting back to my regular schedule. I've definitely missed my bed. I had never seen a more welcome sight last night after I had unpacked most of my stuff. To tell you how tired I was, I didn't even get on my computer and write last night, which is highly unusual. **

**I'm going to upload the second chapter as well, so you guys will have something to think about until Saturday. Oh yea, to the newbies reading this story and any of my other stories, I update of Tuesdays and Saturdays, and sometimes I throw in a surprise update every now and then.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Hello?" I say, answering the house phone.

"Keegan, the business we had in Ashville didn't take as long as we thought, so we'll be home tonight." my mom says.

"Oh good." I say, giving a small sigh of relief.

"Is something wrong?" she asks.

"Oh, no. It's just nice to know you guys will be home soon." I say.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

My mom was always able to tell when I was holding back something.

"Yes, mom. I'm fine." I say.

"Okay." she says, sounding like she wasn't completely convinced.

I end the call, just to have Denise barge into my room, her skin an angry shade of red and her face looking furious.

"What?" I ask.

"What did I tell you? You're not allowed to answer the phone!" she screams.

"I'm sorry. It was my mom." I say.

"Oh yea? And what did she say?" she asks.

"She said that the business they had didn't take as long as they expected, so they'll be back tonight." I say.

"Is that so?" she asks, then slams my door. I assume she was going to call my mom to see if I was telling the truth.

I sigh and go back to my homework.

* * *

It had started raining at six. The thunder sounded like gunshots and the lightning lit up the sky in purple and blue.

I see my parents' bright car head lights out my window as they pull into the driveway. I figure I can come out of my room now.

As I walk into the living room, I see that Denise's purse was gone from the chair it had been sitting on. She must have left already.

The doorknob turns and a small smile comes to my lips. Hopefully, if they ever went out of town again, I could convince them to let me stay here by myself, or come with them.

Just before the door opens, I hear an ear-piercing scream. The smile is wiped from my face and I hurry over to the door. I grab my baseball bat that I had left by the door and fling it open.

The rain was still pouring down in heavy sheets. The thunder and lightening was still going at it too.

I squint and see a large figure hovering over two smaller figures by the car.

I run over, the rain instantly soaking me, and the large figure becomes clearer. It definitely wasn't human, that was for sure. It's skin was a dark scaly green, almost black. It had claws as long as drum sticks.

The two smaller figures cowering below it were my parents.

"Hey!" I yell at the thing.

It whirls around and snarls at me. It's face was hideous; eyes the color of blood, giant, tusk-like fangs protruding from it's mouth.

"Keegan!" my mom screams, jumping up and flinging herself onto the creature's back.

It roars and flails around, trying to fling her off it's back. I try to smack it with the bat, and miss.

"Keegan!" my mom yells, "Get away from here! Run away and never come back!"

"But mom-" I start.

"Go!" she screams.

I back up and then start running into the street. I don't leave entirely though. I just hide behind the neighbor's bushes across the street.

I watch as the monster finally throws my mom off it's back. She backs away and towards my dad. It seemed like he was paralyzed with fear, unable to move.

The thing advances on them and then tears into them with it's claws. It slices and gorges at them until there's nothing left but a pile of bloody human flesh.

All the while, I stay behind the bushes, watching in horror as the thing eats my parents' remains in two gulps. I wanted to be sick. The thing leaves soon after.

I stay behind the bushes, in shock. The rain was soaking me more and more by the second. My brown hair was in my eyes. After about fifteen minutes, I stand up and make my way back over to the house.

I look at where my parents had been and see nothing. The monster had left nothing, the blood had been washed away by the rain already.

I felt numb. This couldn't be real, they couldn't be _dead_. That was impossible. They just couldn't be.

**A/N:**

**Was that feels packed enough? I think it was... **

**The monster that killed Keegan's parents I just came up with. I have no idea if such a Greek monster exists, but if it does, that's rad. **

**Also, if any of you guys are wondering, Keegan lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I though it was fitting for his character. **

**And just to letcha know, chapter 3 is a bit of time-jump. I think you're going to like the character I introduce, but then, I could be wrong. ****_I _****like the character.**

**Oh, and I forgot to mention this in the last A/N. I think it was in the last part of TSoR, I'd do a thing at the end of each A/N called an "M/A." M/A stands for "Music Appreciation" and what I do is, I pick a song that I really like, and basically just talk about it. So, you can choose to read it or not, doesn't matter to me.**

**M/A:**

**"The World is Ugly" by My Chemical Romance is literally one of my most favorite songs ever. It's right up there with "Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day.**

_**"''Cause the world is ugly  
But you're beautiful to me  
Are you thinking of me  
Like I'm thinking of you**_

_**I would say I'm sorry, though  
Though I really need to go  
I just wanted you to know  
That the world is ugly (I just wanted you to know)  
But you're beautiful to me (I just wanted you to know)  
Are you thinking of me'"**_

_****_**I mean, it's just so beautiful. Sometimes it's really hard to ****_not _****cry while listening to it ****_because _****it's so beautiful. I can almost always guarantee that I'll get chills while listening to it. Great music does that to you.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25 **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Police sirens. I could hear them in the distance behind me. I kept on running. I wouldn't go back to that hell hole. I just wouldn't. Not with Denise there, acting like she cared about me in front of other people, and then beating me into unconsciousness when it was just her and I.

I see an alley and quickly make my way to it. I see an opening in a boarded up door and crawl through.

It was dim inside, only the afternoon sunlight peeking through the boarded up windows. From what I could tell, it was an old warehouse of some sort.

I sit down on the dusty floor, breathing heavily. I still couldn't believe that it had been over a year since that awful night. I had been plagued with nightmares ever since. Every night I'd dream of that thing tearing my parents to bits.

"Hey, kid." a rough voice says from the shadows beside me.

I jump and then look to where it had come from. A guy about 18 years old emerges into the light and comes over to me. His hair was dyed a magenta color and spiked up in a faux hawk. He was wearing a long sleeved, plaid shirt on that looked like it had seen better days. His jeans were faded and ripped on the knees, and his black combat boots looked worn in and comfortable. Everything about him looked worn and weary, yet mellowed out at the same time, like he was at peace.

"What are you doin' here, man? This is my place." he says.

"What?" I ask.

He chuckles and then plops down next to me. He looks at me and I see that his eyes are a warm, sparkling brown, the color of maple syrup.

"Ah, man. I'm just kiddin' with ya. You can stay here." he says, patting me on the back.

"Uh, thank you?" I say, looking at him.

"Man, you look like you need a hit. Here." he says, shoving a cigarette into my hand.

"I'm sorry, but I don't smoke." I say, giving it back to him.

"Just try it, man. Won't hurt anything." he says

I skeptically look at it. I sniff the smoke emitting from it and I can tell that it isn't a cigarette. This was a joint of weed. I was familiar with the smell of it. Kids at my school had been smoking it. Even Oliver. He had tried getting me to try it a few weeks ago, before I ran away.

I eye it and then put it up to my mouth, inhaling. Then I start choking.

"Ah, man. First time?" the guy asks, sitting down next to me.

I nod, still choking.

"You'll get used to it. Trust me, man." he says, taking it from me.

After a while of sitting in the boarded up warehouse, I had learned that this guy's name was Jordan. He had run away from his foster parents' house quite a few years ago. He had stumbled across a guy in the weed dealing market and had been taken in.

"Here, try it again. It gets easier the more you try it." he says, handing the joint to me again.

I inhale again, this time resulting with just a few small coughs.

"See. It gets easier." he says.

I was liking the way this stuff made me feel. I could see why Oliver and the other kids loved it so much. I didn't have a care in the world, I felt as light as a feather.

* * *

"Hey kid, wake up." someone nudges me.

"Jordan?" I ask, yawning.

I squint open my eyes and see that it was much lighter in the abandoned building. I must have fallen asleep last night sometime while I had been high. I sit up to find two cops in front of me.

I start to panic and look around, trying to find Jordan. He was nowhere in sight. I give a small sigh of relief, glad that the cops hadn't found him.

"C'mon." one of them says.

"You oughta be ashamed of yourself. Your god-mother is worried sick." the other says.

"She's sick alright." I mumble.

"What was that?" the first asks.

"Nothing, sir." I say, hiking my backpack up onto my shoulder.

They escort me out and we walk to a police car parked just outside the alley. They put me in the backseat and then we start heading to the station.

* * *

"And just what were you thinking?!" Denise shouts.

I shrug. I didn't really feel like fighting, but I knew that this was where this conversation was going. Most conversations with Denise ended with fighting.

"Oh, don't you do that. Give me a fucking answer, Keegan!" she yells.

I stay silent, anticipating the beating I was about to get.

She strikes my face with her hand, making a sharp cracking sound. I don't cry out, as I had the first time she had done it. I had discovered that that just made her hit me harder.

She scratches at my face with her sharp, pointed fingernails. She does this several times, causing the skin to break and draw blood. The exposed flesh burned like the fires of Hell. I could feel the warm, wet stickiness of it dripping down my face and onto my collarbone.

Finally, she pushes me to the ground and kicks me in the stomach with her pointy, high heeled shoes. I curl up in a ball and she stops.

"Now, _never_ do that again. Otherwise, it'll be worse next time." she says, her voice cold and deadly.

* * *

As I open my backpack in my room, a small Ziploc falls out and onto the floor. I pick it up and see there's three small joints of weed inside, just ready to be lit up and their sweet smoke inhaled.

Jordan must have put them in there before he left the warehouse.

I sigh and hide it in the lining of my backpack. I had had one of the girls in the sewing club at school put a secret zipper in the inside of my backpack so I could hide things in there that I didn't want Denise finding.

I dump the rest of the content of the backpack onto my bed. I definitely wasn't planning on staying here. I was going to have to wait a few weeks before I attempted running away again though. Denise will be on my heels for a while, making sure I don't try anything.

**A/N:**

**Told ya there was a time jump. Keegan is almost 15 now. "How is that possible, Mrs-diAngelo25?" you ask. Well, lemme explain it for you.**

**Keegan's parents died in the middle of May, and he was 13 at the time. His birthday is on November 10th, so he tuned 14 that year. With the time jump, it leaves us at the end of September about a year and a half later. So he'll be 15 in, roughly, a month and a half. Does that clear the confusion, if there was any to begin with?**

**Also, I think you guys are really going to like Jordan. He's a pretty rad character ;)**

**If you're wondering why I'm updating just a day after I posted the first two chapters, I just felt like it. I'm in a relatively good mood today because I resurrected my thought to be unsaveable (I don't think that's even a word, but fuck it) favorite pair of ripped jeans. Yep! A thing on the front of a car caught onto one of the holes a couple of months ago when I was walking through a parking lot and ripped them really, really bad. Like, to the point of no return. **

**I was deeply saddened by this loss of clothing, to the point of nearly breaking down sobbing in the parking lot. But, I saved them! I took 'em out last night and looked at the tear and thought to myself, "I can sew that back together!" And I did! So I'm quite satisfied with myself today :)**

**And that was pretty much my day, besides getting my schoolwork done. Now I'm at work with my mom and I'm about to start writing some more on this story and also on A New Beginning (part 1 of the epilogue trilogy for TSoR, for anyone who doesn't know what A New Beginning is).**

**M/A:**

**So, recently, I've been listening to the song "Figure.09" by Linkin Park. It's like one of the best songs to listen to when you're pretty fucked off with yourself.**

**_"'Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them  
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening  
It's like nothing I can do would distract me when  
I think of how I shot myself in the back again  
'Cause from the infinite words I could say I  
Put all pain you gave to me on display  
But didn't realize instead of setting it free I  
Took what I hated and made it a part of me'"_**

**__****And I really like the end of it because there's some screamo in there and it's just awesome.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngleo25**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?!" Denise screams, slamming the front door and stomping over to me.

I blow a cloud of smoke into her face and she coughs, waving it out of her face. She looked infuriated, but I didn't care.

"Are you _stoned_?!" she yells.

"So what if I am?" I ask, slowly getting off the couch and making my way to my room.

Everything around me looked psychedelic and just awesome. I felt amazing for the first time in a year. Why I hadn't discovered this stuff sooner, I don't know.

I mean, it's not like I didn't have the money to buy it. My parents had left everything to me in their will and since they were the head bosses of the organic power company they had built together, they had had a lot of money.

"You get back here, you ungrateful brat!" she says.

I ignore her and go into my room, closing the door and locking it behind me. I was surprised she hadn't taken the lock off of it by now and put one on the outside. I wasn't complaining though.

I was planning on escaping again tonight. I had finally broken through the lock she had had installed on my window. I already had my backpack packed and ready to go. This time, I was determined to leave this place and never come back.

Sure, the last time had failed, but that had only been my second time of trying to run away, and I had been gone for about two weeks. That was a pretty good feat for a 14, almost 15, year old, if I do say so myself.

* * *

I slide open the window, careful not to make a sound. It was just past 1 o'clock. Denise had gone to bed about 30 minutes ago, I had waited until I heard her loud snores to make my move.

I get it open, grab my backpack, and climb through, landing in the garden five feet below. I consider closing my window, then decide against it.

As I turn away from the window, I hear Denise shout my name and I make a run for it. I swear, she must of had a tracking device implanted in me so any time I left the house, it alerted her. I run as fast as I can and I don't stop until I reach the gas station about half a mile away from my neighborhood.

When I finally get there, I lean against a gas pump and breathe heavily. I hated running so much. I usually found a way out of running laps in PE at school.

When I get my breath back, I straighten up and pull a bus schedule out of my backpack. I was planning on traveling to Essex, New York. My parents used to have another house there in the woods, and I don't think Denise knows about it. Hopefully it was still there.

The next bus wasn't supposed to get here until 3:00. That gave me enough time to walk to the station and rest a little before I got on the bus.

I start walking in the direction of the bus station, pulling my light jacket tighter around me. The fall air was a bit chilly.

I look up at the dark night sky. The moon was out and the stars were sparkling like rare gems. Nights like this reminded me of the times my parents and I would sit out in the backyard and watch for shooting stars when I was little.

I sigh and look back down. That would never happen again though. I would never be happy like that again.

**A/N:**

**So I've decided that for this story, I'll try and update once a day. I want to get through with it so we can move onto the trilogy. I'm super excited for you guys to read it!**

**This chapter was a sort of filler. Actually, no. It ****_was _****a filler. But it was bit of an exciting filler, in my opinion.**

**M/A:**

**So a couple of days ago, I got Grouplove's new album "Spreading Rumors," and I gotta say, it's pretty fucking rad. It's really hard to pick a favorite song off of it, but if I had to, I'd say "Hippy Hill." Partially for the name, and also for the sound of it. The other one I really like is "Ways to Go."**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

When I get to the bus station, it was practically deserted. The only other person there was a bum who was sleeping on one of the benches.

I decided to stay clear of him. You never knew how a homeless person will act if you accidentally wake them up. They could be pretty nice and clingy, or they could get really angry and chase you around with a stick or whatever was in reach.

I sit down on one of the benches and pull my ticket out of my backpack. I had gone ahead and bought it last week on my way home from school. I had kept it hidden in the secret pocket in my backpack, along with the dope.

There were only two joints left. I had smoked all of that one yesterday, and I didn't regret it. It made me feel amazing. I wondered if I could get more sometime. I had no idea how much they cost though. If I could find Jordan though, which was _very_ unlikely, maybe he could hook me up.

"Keegan! What are you doing here?" someone says.

I turn around and I'm surprised to see Oliver.

"_Oliver_? I think the question is, what are _you_ doing here?" I ask.

"Keegan, we need to get out of here." he says, sitting down next to me. I notice right away that he's all fidgety. He does that when he gets really nervous.

"Oliver, I'm not going back. I can't." I say.

"Oh yea? And why's that?" he asks. He was also talking really fast, which meant he was really freaked out about something.

"Denise. She's evil. I can't live with her anymore." I say.

"Evil, eh? How?" he asks.

"She beats me when I do things she doesn't like. Which is pretty much everything." I say.

"What?" he asks, a shocked look on his face, all fidgeting disappearing from his body.

"You heard me. You know a few weeks ago when I came to school with scratches on my face? And how I told you that I had picked up a stray cat and it had clawed me? Well, that was a lie. Denise did that because I had tried running away." I say.

"Whoa. Dude. Where are you going?" he asks.

"My parents had another house in Essex, New York. We used to go there in the summer and winter and have company over. Usually it was used for business trips and stuff, my parents would have clients and bosses of other companies come over." I say.

"You think it's still there?" he asks.

"I'm hoping it is. If it isn't, I'm screwed." I say.

We sit there for a few minuets, not doing much of anything, our own thoughts occupying our minds.

"Hey, earlier you said that we needed to get out of here. Why?" I ask, turning to look at him.

"Oh crap. How did I forget—stupid, stupid." he says, smacking his forehead.

"What? What is it?" I ask.

"Keegan, we really do need to get out of here. I can't explain it now, but we-" and that's when he stopped talking.

I hear a sickening '_shlick_' and a small gasp emits from Oliver's lips. His brilliantly green eyes dull and droop slightly. I look at his stomach and see a growing splotch of scarlet. There was also a hole in his shirt.

"Oliver!" I cry, trying to hold him up and prevent him from falling to the ground.

That's when I hear something breathing behind me.

"Oh God, please be a homeless person, please be a homeless person." I say under my breath.

I drag Oliver off of the bench and stand up, turning around. There was a thing standing there. For the most part, it was human shaped and sized, except it's skin was slate gray, having the texture of ash, and it's neck was unusually long. Lining it's arms and legs, and whole body, really, were spikes.

They looked almost like giant spider legs, little prickly things sticking out from them. They looked really sharp too. Sorta like a freshly sharpened pencil.

I back away as quickly as possible, still dragging Oliver with me. I had no idea what this thing was, but I definitely didn't want to be impaled by one of it's spikes.

When I'm about twenty feet away from it, it rushes over to me, just inches away. It bends down a little, getting on Oliver's level. I have to do a double take of what happens next.

Oliver's body sort of shimmers, glowing a spring green for a split second and then shrinking. The next thing I know, where I had been holding onto Oliver, a small plant was in my hands instead. For a second, I wondered if I was somehow still high from that joint I had smoked yesterday.

The thing gives a bone-chilling shriek and then stares at me. It's eyes were the scariest things I've ever seen. They glowed red, and it felt like they were daggers piercing your soul. And of course, this thing starts inching closer to me.

I give a small gasp and then turn around and run, holding onto the plant that used to be Oliver. I didn't even care if I missed the bus, I just wanted to get away from this thing.

**A/N:**

**What a crazy night that would be. Your best friend gets killed by this creepy, spiky, monster thing, and then turns into a plant in your hands. I would definitely still think I was high if I had been Keegan.**

**Guess what guys! HOUSE OF HADES COMES OUT IN FOUR DAYS! ****_FOUR DAYS! _****Holy fuck, I think I'll die when I get that book in my hands. I feel like I've been waiting for years on end, when really it's only been a year...A PAINSTAKINGLY LONG YEAR. **

**I'm so happy! I really dunno why, but I'll take it. Maybe 'cause I'll get to spend the day with my mom today when she gets off in an hour or so, and also 'cause I've got a night full of writing... GOD I'M JUST SO EXCITED! Partly for HoH, and also for the trilogy and this story and just-FEEEEEEELLLS! TOO MANY FEEEEEELLS!**

**Don't worry, don't worry. I'm not gonna have a heart attack on y'all. I just get really super excited when I've had it all pent up inside for a while, y'know?**

**Also, my night was made last night when I found out that FanFiction had fixed the problems with the summaries on here, and also that YOU CAN LIST "OC" AS A CHARACTER AND/OR CHARACTERS IN YOUR STORIES! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO THAT!**

**M/A:**

***screams from the top of my lungs***

**_"'And the truth is  
I am scared all the time  
I'm terrified  
When I think of the world without her'"_**

**God, I just really love The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Their songs are just so fucking beautiful, especially with the way they mix their singing voices with their screaming voices. *blows a kiss to TRJA for being a exquisite band***

**That song that I screamed at the top my lungs is called "Angel in Disguise" from their album "Am I the Enemy," by the way.**

**Have an excellent day, my lovelies! I'll talk to you again tomorrow!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

It felt as if I had been running for hours, when really it had only been about thirty minutes. The thing was still chasing after me, not very fast, mind you, but still fast enough to keep up with me.

I had reached one of the several parks in town and hid in a patch of bushes. It was doubtful that I could hide here for long, but it was worth a shot.

After about ten minutes of being deadly still and quiet, I hear the heavy footsteps of the creature approaching the bushes. I gently set Oliver in plant form down and open my backpack as quietly as possible. I rifle through it for something to defend myself with.

I come up with two pens, a water bottle, a flashlight, the two joints of weed, and a small pocket knife. My best choice is probably going to be the pocket knife, and even that won't do much damage against this thing. I mean, I couldn't very well _smoke _the thing to death, and I wouldn't want to waste perfectly good weed on this thing anyway.

I pop out of the bushes and do my best "battle cry," rushing over to the creature. I jump on it, startling it, and we fall to the ground. I'm about to stab at it's face when I hear someone scream, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

I stop and look closely at the person underneath me in the silver lighting of the moon.

"_Jordan_?! What the hell are you doing here?!" I yell, getting off of him.

"Lookin' for you, man!" he says, standing up and dusting his ripped up jeans off, giving me a resentful look.

"_Why_? You're the one that ditched me two weeks ago!" I say, throwing my hands up in the air.

"Because the cops showed up! Do you seriously think I'm gonna get taken in because I'm in possession of some dope? Hell nah!" he says.

I sigh and rub my temples. "Okay then, why track me down?" I ask.

"'Cause you're in the same boat I was in. No real parents, just trying to get away from a shitty life and start somethin' new." he says, giving me a crooked smile.

"So, what you're saying is, you want to help me just 'cause I'm going though something similar to what you went through?" I ask, not quite believing it.

Not many people in the past year have offered to help me, besides Oliver of course, but he was gone now. Or at least, turned into a plant, so basically he was useless.

He gives me a look and says, "Well, yea."

"So you're just gonna tag along with me, and make sure I'm alright?" I ask.

"Where you plannin' on goin'?" he asks.

"Essex, New York. My parents used to have a house up there and I want to see if it's still there." I say.

"Alright then, let's get goin'." he says.

I check my watch and see that it's now 3:30. "Well, we're going to have to wait for the next bus. We missed the 3 o'clock one." I say.

"No need for a bus. I got a buddy that gave me one of his junker cars for twenty bucks. That's how I got here. C'mon." he says, turning around and waving me on.

I hesitate for a second then pick up Plant-Oliver and my backpack, then follow Jordan out of the park. I wasn't quite sure about this, but it would be nice having some company on the long road to New York.

**A/N:**

**Shortish chapter. What do you think happened to the creature that had been chasing Keegan? I mean, it just sorta disappeared there. And what are y'all's thoughts on Jordan? Good guy, bad guy, just-sorta-there guy?**

**I think I'm gonna go ahead and upload the next chapter since this one was a bit short... **

**M/A:**

**I've decided that if I do more than one chapter a day, I'll only do one M/A, so I'll do it in the next chapter...**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"So, you never really told me about your parents back at the warehouse. What were they like?" Jordan asks.

We had been driving for about three hours now. It had been pretty quite and we were just keeping to ourselves for the most part. It wasn't really an awkward silence, just comfortable.

"Well, they were the head bosses of an organic energy plant." I say.

"So, basically, you guys were rich?" he asks, glancing at me and raising an eyebrow.

"Yea, I guess you could say that. They didn't like to flaunt our money though. Both of them grew up in pretty big families and they never had much to go around. So they liked to be very cautious with it all, I guess you'd say." I say.

"I see." he says, nodding.

We drive for a while longer, not really talking. One of us would point out something along the road, like a sign or something, every once and a while.

"But I mean, what were they like?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking at him.

"Well like, how were they like? Were they nice or mean? How'd they treat you?" he asks.

"Oh, my mom was one of the best people I knew. I think that even if I had done the most horrible thing on the planet, she still would've loved me. And my dad, he was about the same as my mom. They were both very accepting, open-minded people and encouraged me to be different, not follow all the trends. They also really loved music. My mom used to sing and play guitar all the time, and my dad could play the ukulele." I say.

"I think I would've loved your parents." he says, almost longingly.

"I think they would've really liked you too, Jordan." I say.

"Really?" he asks.

"Really." I say.

"Oh, and when I found you earlier, why did you try to skin my face off with that pocket knife? And why did you bring that plant?" he asks.

I sigh and look at him. "You're gonna think I'm crazy." I say.

"Hey man, I'm pretty crazy myself. I doubt, by this point in my life, that much would surprise me. Lay it on me." he says.

So I start telling my story. I told him about getting stoned earlier, and Denise coming back to the house and screaming her head off at me. Then about leaving the house at about 1 o'clock and Denise waking up, and then having to run as fast as I could away from the house.

And then I told him what had happened at the bus station a couple of hours ago. By the time I was finished, he had one of the most sorrowful looks on his face that I had ever seen on someone.

"What? What is it, Jordan?" I ask.

"Oh, Keegan. You have no clue what you've gotten into, do you?" he asks.

"What do you mean? Jordan, you're freaking me out, man." I say.

He sighs and says, "Just tell me how to get to your parents' house in New York. I'll tell explain when we get there." he says.

I give him a look and say, "Okay. Take the next exit."

**A/N: **

**And there you go. What do you think Jordan is going to tell Keegan? I think you guys are really gonna like tomorrow's chapter :3**

**M/A:**

**I think one of my favorite songs ever is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls. It's really just so beautiful, the lyrics, the music, the everything.**

_**"'And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am'"**_

_****_**Like, I have no words for how fucking beautiful those lyrics ^up there^ are. It's like impossible to describe it.**

**I also really love it because it's one of my brother's favorite songs, and he used to listen to it all the time when he was driving and I'd be in the backseat. Brings back memories, y'know?**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

The sun had come up about two hours ago, so when we were driving up the long, steep, rocky driveway, everything was bathed in bright, morning sunlight. I could tell something was wrong, but I tried to push the troubling feeling out of the pit of my stomach.

When we reached the end of the driveway, I wasn't very surprised to see that the house looked dirty and abandoned. No one had been up here for about two years now. All the maintenance had stopped when my parents died, so no one had been coming up here and cleaning it up and making sure everything was working properly.

Jordan turns off the car and peers at the house, almost warily, through the dirty windshield.

"I dunno, Keegs. This place looks like bad news." he says.

"C'mon. What's the worst that could happen? Walking through a spider web and having a giant spider on the top of your head?" I say, grinning and setting Oliver on the dashboard.

"Man, don't even joke about that. I'm terrified of the creepy things." he says, shivering and opening his door.

I open my door as well and hop out of the car, hitching my backpack strap higher up onto my shoulder.

I walk up the creaking wooden steps, Jordan right behind me. The windows were so dirty with dust and grime that it was nearly impossible to see inside. It amazed me how quickly something could deteriorate without proper care.

"Man, I really think this a bad idea." Jordan says, his voice low.

"Will you man up and stop being a baby? I just need to get the spare set of keys and then we can go inside and see what we gotta deal with." I say, rolling my eyes and heading over to the loose board in the wraparound porch.

My parents had purposefully had a secret compartment built under one of the floor boards for the spare keys and any other important things we wanted to keep away from sneaky hands.

I find it after about five minutes of searching. I drop my backpack and unzip it, rifling through it until I find the small pocket knife. I pop it open and then jam it between the cracks, prying it open.

I get it open and place the board beside me. There were some old, deserted cobwebs lining the inside of the compartment. I hear Jordan make a disgusted sound as I dig my hand inside, getting it coated in the webs, and pulling out the keys.

"I can't believe you just did that." he says, looking a bit green, as I place the board back and stomp it back into place.

"Well, you gotta do what you gotta do." I say, shrugging.

We head back to the front door and I select the correct key. I place it in the lock and turn it. There's a slight clicking sound and I turn the knob. The door swings open, squeaking slightly.

We walk in, the place extremely quiet. Everything had been left as the last time I had been here. All the furniture had been covered up by the previous housekeepers, protecting them from the dust.

"Oh yea, what was it you were going to explain to me?" I ask, looking around.

I drop my backpack on one of the chairs in the living room, creating an enormous dust moat.

"Keegan, how did your parents die?" he asks.

"What?" I ask, his question catching me off guard.

"How did your parents die?" he asks again.

I rip the cover off of the couch and plop down on it. I open my bag and unzip the secret pocket. I pull out the Ziploc with the two joints and pull one out. I take out a lighter and light one. I inhale the smoke, resulting in a small cough. I offer it to Jordan, but he holds up his hands and shakes his head slightly.

"You still haven't answered me, Keegan. How did they die?" he asks.

I sigh and lean back, propping my arms along the back the of the couch. I look up at the ceiling and blow rings of smoke, watching as they sorta glimmered then disappeared in the sunlight.

"Keegan." Jordan says, his voice serious.

"A creature killed them." I say, taking another hit.

"_What_?" he asks.

"Oh, y'know. Sorta like the one I told you about that killed Oliver this morning. Except it didn't look like that one, it was different." I say.

"What did it look like?" he asks, sitting down next to me.

"Oh, I dunno. That was over a year ago. Man, why are you so uptight about this?" I ask, getting that light as a feather feeling that I loved so much.

"Because this is extremely important. So, I need you to stub that joint out and put it away, and I need you to listen to me." he says.

I start giggling. I have no idea why I'm giggling. Maybe just because of the way Jordan was so serious. What was there to be serious about? I was safe now; _we_ were safe now.

"Godsdammit, Keegan!" Jordan shouts, standing up from the couch and running his fingers though his spiky, magenta hair.

"Duuude, chill out. We're safe now." I say, a couple of giggles escaping my mouth.

"No, Keegan. We are _not_ safe." he says, looking at me.

I sigh and shake my head, taking another puff and blowing smoke in his face.

He rolls his eyes at me, waving the smoke out of his face. "I'll be right back." he says.

He comes back a few minutes later with a bucket. The next thing I know, I have ice cold water dumped all over me. I bolt off the couch, yelling.

"What the hell, Jordan?!" I scream, my high instantly evaporating.

"Well, you're not high anymore, that's for sure." he says, smirking.

"Damn right. What gave you the impression? Was it the fact that I moved at the speed of lightening getting off that couch?" I ask, motioning to the now-soaked couch.

"I'm gonna go change. I'll be right back." I say.

"Uh-uh." he says, holding out an arm and stopping me.

"Jordan, I'm freezing cold. I need to go change clothes." I say, my teeth starting to chatter.

"Not until I tell you what you need to know." he says.

Just as he's about to start what I predict will be a very long explanation, there's a loud crash out back. We freeze and look out the big bay window in the dining room. We see a large, dark figure moving in the trees, making it's way to the house. Even from all the way in here, I could tell it was covered in long spikes.

"Oh shit." Jordan says.

"How the hell did it find me?!" I shriek.

"Shh!" he shushes me, "C'mon, we can't stay here." he says, grabbing up my backpack and my arm, dragging me quickly out the front door and down the steps.

"Jordan, where are we going?" I ask, keeping my voice low.

"Away from here." he says.

We get in, quickly closing our doors "We're not safe here. I promise, I'll explain on the way." he says, starting the car and peeling away from the house, barreling down the long driveway.

I look behind me at the disappearing house as we go down the hill. I hear a crash, like glass breaking, and then an extremely loud roar. I shiver, partly from my soaking clothes and partly from the roar. I was glad Jordan had dragged me out of that house. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't?

**A/N:**

**I bet you guys are getting pretty frustrated with me for putting off that ****explanation, yet again. Don't worry, it's in the next chapter :3**

**Or at least, part of it is in the next chapter...The rest of it is in chapter 11...**

**I really just get so fucking frustrated with my friend sometimes. She's my best friend and she can be really awesome, but sometimes she just drives me up a wall. **

**A) She's blown me off countless times when we've had plans to hang out, just so she can spend time with a girl she's known for barely a year, but then, this girl's brother is my friend's boyfriend, but still!**

**B) When I need her when I'm really upset and angry with myself and just everyone, she acts like it's nothing important. **

**C) When she's "had a really bad day," she asks if we can hang out because she just really needs to "be with her best friend," and when this happens, I actually care and I don't act like I don't care about her problems. I give her advice or I'm just there to listen. **

**Sometimes I just feel like I'm wasting my time with her and I shouldn't even bother. You guys ever feel like that with someone? Like, you care a lot about them, but they don't seem to care much at all about you or what happens to you?**

**M/A:**

**The more I listen to Circa Survive, the more I love them. Just like-good god, they're awesome! **

**One of my newest favorites by them is "Brother Song" from their album "Violent Waves."**

_**"'Oh there must be a way to understand the things you say,  
Without letting it get to me,  
Oh I may never get used to getting locked out of your life,  
Who'll get, who'll get out alive,**_

And I won't share your anger,  
It doesn't do me any good to feel,  
And we can't shape our feelings the right way,  
Until we learn things won't ever change no oh oh oh oh'"

**Just like wow, those lyrics are just so awesome! I really love them because I can relate to them. Those are my favorite kinds of songs, ones I can relate to.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

We had been going 90 in a 75 speed zone for about an hour now. I wasn't sure if I was more surprised that the junker could _go_ that fast, or that a state trooper hadn't stopped us by now. Usually the interstate was loaded with them.

"Jordan." I say.

"Huh?" he asks, glancing at me.

"I think you can slow down now." I say.

He looks down at the speedometer and sighs, rolling his eyes. He gradually lightens up on the gas and starts going the speed limit. He loosens his grip on the steering wheel and seems to relax all together.

"Now, you promised you'd tell me what's going on." I say, crossing my arms and giving him a pointed look.

"I know, I know. I just needed to get us away from that house." he says.

"Well, we're pretty far away from it now." I say, urging him to tell me.

"Fine. You're not gonna believe me though." he says.

"Try me." I say.

He's silent for a couple of minutes, as if trying to figure out just where to start this explanation.

"You ever heard of the Greek gods, Keegan?" he asks.

"Yea, a little. We learned a bit about them at the beginning of the school year, but I don't really remember much about it. The teacher was awful and didn't really seem to know much more about the subject than we did." I say, shrugging.

"Figures." he mumbles.

"What?" I ask.

"Most teachers who teach about the Greek gods and myths, have no clue what they're talking about." he says, seeming to be irritated.

"What does this have to do with what you're trying to tell me?" I ask.

"Just be patient. You remember learning about demigods?" he asks.

"Yea, a little. They're the offspring of a god and mortal, right?" I ask.

He nods and says, "Yea. The gods sure do like hooking up with mortals, that's for sure."

"You keep talking about the gods like they actually exist. Is there a point to all this?" I ask.

"Yes, there is." he says.

"And?" I ask, getting irritated.

He sighs and it becomes obvious that he's struggling with how exactly to tell me what he wants to tell me.

"For God's sake, Jordan! Just spit it out!" I yell.

He looks over at me and gives me a look. "Fine. You want to know? You're a demigod, Keegan, and so am I." he says.

"Wh-what?" I stutter.

"You heard me." he says, miffed.

"Wait. So you're telling me that I'm a demigod, and you are too? The gods actually exist?" I ask.

"Yep. That's also why that thing killed your parents. It was probably looking for you, but your mom distracted it and it somehow lost your scent. That's also why that monster killed Oliver. He was your satyr." he says, nodding to the plant still on the dashboard, "He was supposed to keep a sharp eye on you until the summer and then he was supposed to take you to Camp-Half Blood, where you woulda been safe. Instead, he got distracted and got himself killed." he says.

"Don't talk about him like he was a complete imbecile." I say, my tone sharp.

"Sorry, just stating the facts. He got distracted and that's what got him killed." he says.

I sit still, not talking, completely shocked. How was this even _possible_? The gods and all the monsters and stories were supposed to be just that; s_tories_.

But now that I think about it, it makes sense. Why those monsters have shown up around me, some of the things I've seen throughout my short life.

"So where are we going now?" I ask, turning to look at him again.

"We're gonna try and get to Camp. It's the only place where you'll be safe." he says.

"What about you? Aren't you staying there with me?" I ask.

"Nah. Not my style. They don't allow pot there, and I'm not a very powerful demigod, so I don't attract many monsters. When I do, they're pretty weak ones, just looking for a meal." he says.

"Oh. Well, where is this place?" I ask.

"Long Island, New York." he says.

"Well, since we've been going pretty fast for about an hour now, I'd say we'll get there in about three hours." I say.

"Sounds about right. That is, if this thing doesn't die on me." he says, smacking the steering wheel.

"We're gonna need to stop for gas pretty soon." he says.

"I got it covered." I say.

"What? How?" he asks.

I reach into my bag and produce two debit cards. There was a plus to being a rich kid; nearly unlimited money.

"How much you got on those?" he asks, skeptical.

"Plenty to get us to Long Island." I say.

"Won't the cops be able to track those and take you back to South Carolina?" he asks.

"Nope. My parents had these two accounts set up under fake employee names, so they're untraceable. They told me they were for emergencies only, and I've never touched 'em." I say.

"Is it even legal to do that?" he asks.

"Since when do you care about the law?" I snort, "You smoke illegal stuff all the time." I say.

"True." he says, grinning.

We take the next exit and go to a Shell station to fill up the car's tank, and also to get some food. We were both starving.

I came out of the store with two foot-longs from the Subway inside, a couple of bottles of coke and also some chips, candy, and gum. I get to the car just as Jordan finishes filling up the car.

He hops in and quickly starts the car back up. It had gotten slightly chilly inside. I hand him his sandwich and we get on the road again. Hopefully, we wouldn't run into anything bad along the way.

**A/N:**

**Ahh, on the road to Camp! Obviously they're going to run into something along the way, otherwise it would just be boring. What do you think they'll run into? Next chapter through chapter 12, my dears, is when you'll find out!**

**So I dunno why, but I always feel just really happy when I'm at work with my mom (like I am now). Maybe it's 'cause I can just put in my earbuds and be in my little secluded alcove table, and just write and be happy...Also, I get to people-watch, and that's a lot of fun ;)**

**And since I'm gonna be here til like 9:30 tonight, I'm probably going to get a lot of writing done! I've already got 13 chapters written for this one and I'm thinking I'll end it at about 20 or 22. A New Beginning has 14 chapters written, and I have no clue how long that one's going to be yet. **

**Then I've also got a one-shot and another story in mind, but they're still in the "thinking it through" process, so I dunno when I'm going to start those. I'll tell you who the main characters are though. In the one-shot the main characters are Nico and Percy (no, it's not a Nico/Percy), and the story is Silena and Beckendorf.**

**After hearing about it constantly on Tumblr, I've decided to start watching Supernatural...I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, because just the gifs and pictures with their captions give me a serious case of the feels and I don't really even know the characters yet! I haven't gotten the first season yet, but I'm planning on renting it sometime this week. And knowing me when it comes to TV shows, I'll stay up til about 2 or 3 in the morning finishing a whole season in one day. Usually that results in screaming at the TV like a person gone mad, and then in the morning, waking up and being in a bad mood of some sort...I call these TV shows "life ruiners" (and yes I know, "runiners" isn't actually a word).**

**M/A:**

**So the other day, I discovered that one of the YouTubers I watch (BriBry) has recorded and released some singles/EPs on iTunes. So I listened to them and instantly fell in love with his voice and the music and just everything.**

**He's a singer/songwriter, so it's a bit different from the usual stuff I listen to (punk, rock, alternative), but it just sounds so awesome.**

**The song that I really love right now is called "Adventure Time" from his EP "Grow."**

**It's just one of the sweetest songs I've ever listened to and it's got a really good melody in general.**

_**"'If I lose my head again, please remind me that I have nothing  
And I'd be nowhere without you to protect me  
If you, if you can't reach me again, well you are my only friend  
You'll find me at the bottom playing guitar badly  
Life's a game to me, but with only one controller  
And he's unhappy**_

**_So please, please, please won't you join me_**  
**_Until the very end_**  
**_It's adventure time again'"_**

**Those are the opening lyrics and I just-aijhdfijhsih. AHH! **

**I'm so excited for his new EP "Misadventure." And guess when it's supposed to come out! TOMORROW WHEN HOUSE OF HADES COMES OUT! Man, tomorrow's gonna be a fucking good day.**

**I hope every one has a good rest of the day. I'm going to go write for pretty much the whole day!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Hey, Keegs. Wake up, there's somethin' wrong with the car." Jordan says, shaking me with one hand.

I squint open my eyes and I'm greeted with the sight of smoke pouring out of the hood of the car.

"Ugh." I moan.

"C'mon. Let's check it out." he says, pulling onto the side of the road and turning off the car.

He pops the hood and then opens his door, getting out and going to the front of the car. I unbuckle my seat belt and then open my door as well, sliding out and the going around to the front of the car with Jordan.

When he opens the hood, putrid smoke practically envelopes us in a poisonous cloud. We gag on the stuff, trying to wave it away from our faces.

"What do you think the problem is?" I ask, peering at the smoky parts in the car.

"I dunno. I can't really see anything causing a—wait a second." he says, getting closer look.

"Hey, hand me a rag or something." he says.

I go back to the side of the car and look in the back. There were a couple of dirty oil rags, so I grab those and go back to the front.

"Here." I say, handing them to Jordan.

He takes them and folds them, then reaches into the car and pulls something out. It was a smoking, burned spike that was about the size of chef's knife.

"Fuck." he says.

"Jordan, do you know what that is?" I ask, feeling sick.

He nods, a look of dread on his face.

"We need to get out of here." I say.

"We can't." he says, his voice filled with misery.

"And why not?" I ask.

"This thing was piercing the gas pump and the gas valve. I'm surprised it didn't blow up when I started the car after it was placed there." he says, examining the still steaming spike.

"Well then, how are we going to get away from here?" I ask, starting to panic.

"We could always hitchhike. I've done it plenty." he says, shrugging.

I gave him a look that plainly said I wasn't hitchhiking.

"Well then, what do you propose we do?" he asks.

I sigh and look up at the brilliant blue sky. "How far away are we from this place?" I ask.

"Maybe an hour?" he says, shrugging.

"Alright then, we can walk." I say, going back to the side of the car and grabbing my backpack and Oliver.

"Are you insane?!" he says, coming around to me.

"What else do you think we can do, besides hitchhiking?" I say.

He sets his jaw and narrows his eyes. "Fine. We'll walk. But, y'know the cops are probably looking for you now. They'll be all over the place." he says.

"I can be elusive. They won't find us." I say, glancing into the woods bordering the road.

"You can't be serious." he says, his eyes widening.

"I am. We don't have another choice." I say.

"Yes we do!" he says.

"If you have one, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, this is our only chance of staying hidden from the cops." I say.

He sighs and looks down at the spike in his hand. "Okay, okay. We'll take the woods." he says.

"Alright. C'mon." I say, heading into the trees.

**A/N:**

**This seems like a sort of filler, in my opinion. But, it wasn't a ****_total_**** filler because of the whole thing with the car...What do you think will happen on their long journey on foot to Camp? I'm just gonna go ahead and warn y'all, the end of chapter 14 is so fucking packed with feels. I was writing it last night while I was at work with my mom and she came over on her break with our dinner and I said, "My own writing is becoming too much for me. Good god, this is awful!"**

**GUYS. TODAY IS THE DAY! HOLY FUCK, WE CAN FINALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. AND WE'LL ALSO KNOW WHAT THE LAST BOOK IS CALLED! OH MY GODS, I'M SO EXCITED! I JUST NEED TO WAIT LIKE ANOTHER 15 MINUTES FOR MY MOM TO GET HOME FROM WORK AND THEN SHE'S TAKING ME TO GET IT! OH MY GODS, I'M SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT. I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO CLIMB A TREE OR SOMETHING (even though I've never climbed a tree in my life, believe it or not). I can already tell tonight is going to be a very late night...**

**I'm drinking the best thing right now. It's called Sparkling Ice and it's a flavored bubbly water. The one I'm drinking is coconut pineapple and it tastes so. fucking. good. Like wow this stuff is great. So refreshing.**

**I'm literally just so happy! It finally feels fucking amazing now, actually feels like fall, y'know? Last night I was taking the dog out and then I was taking the trash out and I just really wished that I was friends with someone in my neighborhood that I could just call and say, "Hey, c'mon it feels awesome right now. Let's go on a walk or to the park or something." Like that would just be awesome and ****_I can't do that 'cause I don't have any friends in my neighborhood! Gahh! It's so frustrating! _**

**M/A:**

**I just realized the other day how many fucking love songs I have on my iPod. Like really, most everything on there is love songs, but they're different. They're not your usual slow, sweet love songs. They're love songs with a fucking punch to them.**

**Like "Stray Heart" by Green Day, for example.**

_**"'We'll never part  
I'll never stray again from you  
You're not alone  
Oh oh and now I'm where I belong  
We're not alone  
Oh oh I'll hold your heart and never let go '"**_

**Now, if you look at those lyrics, you'd think these are probably from a slow-moving love song... WRONG! "Stray Heart" is one of the best, fast beat, love songs I know of. It's really just pretty fucking awesome, actually :3**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Hey, Jordan." I say.

"Yea?" he asks.

We had been walking for a little over four hours and my feet were killing me. The sun had sunk a little lower in the sky and the light wasn't quite as bright as when we had started our trek to Camp on foot.

"Did you know I was a demigod when you tracked me down?" I ask.

He takes a few minutes before answering my question. "I did." he says.

"How? I mean, how did you know? Did I show a sign of something when I first met you in the warehouse?" I ask.

"I dunno if you remember, but we _did_ talk about your parents a little. It was right as you were falling asleep and you had been going on about how you wish your mom was still alive because she used to give you cookies and milk as a bedtime snack." he says, his voice quiet.

I had a lump in my throat. I don't know why I did. I had had more than a year to get adjusted to my mom being gone, never seeing her every day. I guess just hearing someone else talk about her made it all real again.

"I had asked you how your parents had died, and you told me. When you had described the creature that had killed them, I was instantly snapped out of my high. I knew then that you were a demigod. That's why I left the warehouse, so the scent wouldn't become too strong and attract a monster. I mean, if you had already attracted that one that killed your parents, with me there, one definitely woulda picked up our scent." he says.

"So, you wouldn't of cared if the cops had arrested you?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Nah. I mean, yea I woulda been irritated. But I got buddies that are friends with some cops in that area, so it wouldn't of been a problem getting me out." he says.

"Surely just me telling you about how my parents died didn't convince you of what I was though." I say.

"It didn't. Not completely, anyway. So when I came back to the warehouse and you weren't there, I decided to track you down and see if my suspicions were true." he says.

"And you found me two weeks later, running for my life, holding a plant." I say.

"Yep. And then you tried skinning my face off. That little incident and what you told me about Oliver proved that I was right." he says.

I look down at the small plant in my hands now. I feel a single tear roll down my cheek and it lands on one of the small leaves. I was going to plant it when I got to Camp. It seemed like the right thing to do.

**A/N:**

**This felt like another filler chapter, but I don't even care. Tomorrow's chapter is a little longer and it ****_definitely_**** isn't a filler, I can tell you that.**

**So I didn't actually get to start ****_reading _****HoH till about 5:00 yesterday because my mom had some errands to run and we didn't get back home til about that time. I stopped at chapter 26 today but holy fuck, it's already so infuriatingly amazing. And I practically tortured myself at 12 o'clock last night by skipping ahead and I read a part that made me extremely angry and I nearly wanted to throw the book out my window...Nothing ****_awful _****happened, just the scene in it made me really angry, and that's all I'm gonna say about it 'cause I don't want to give anything away.**

**BUT, that scene made me so angry that I finished the chapter I had been reading before I had skipped and all that anger came out in a story! I was up til about 1:00 or 1:30 writing it, I'm not even sure if I'm gonna post it, and if I did, it would be probably next month after everyone's read the book because something that happened is basically a spoiler as to that scene I read last night...So, yea.**

**M/A:**

**Eve 6 is just so awesome. Like wow. Sometimes, I just wanna go up to them (even though I'll probably ****_never_**** meet them) and shake them by the shoulders and scream, "WHY IS YOUR MUSIC SO FUCKING PERFECT?!" **

**My favorite album by them, ever, is "It's All in Your Head." I swear, that album ****_never _****gets old. My favorite song is a tie between "Hey Montana", "Friend of Mine", and "Arch Drive Goodbye." They all just have such amazing melodies and lyrics and just everything.**

**Since I can't pick a favorite, I'll just give you my favorite lyrics from each song.**

**Hey Montana) ****_"'No one sees the color of your eyes  
No one sees your smile  
No one knows the secrets that you hide  
No one sees you cry'"_**

**Friend of Mine) ****_"'Are you feelin that you're on the brink_****  
****_Of spilling some red in the sink_****  
****_It wasn't the easiest year_****  
****_No I don't want you to go'"_**

**and**

**_"'Friend of mine stay alive  
Don't you leave me here  
All alone in the world with a chronic tear  
I will always be here, I will always be here  
I will always be here for you'"_**

**__****Arch Drive Goodbye) ****_"'Wanna keep you from breakin'  
Wanna keep you from shakin'  
Wanna keep you from keepin' you down'"_**

**Well, I'm off to read some more of HoH!XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

We had been running for what seemed like forever. The thing had found us. Jordan had told me that it was called Spike tou Thanatou, meaning Spike of Death in Greek. He told me that most demigods called him Saint Spike (though there was nothing "saint-like" about him) or Spiky.

"How far behind us is he?" I ask, breathless and still running.

Jordan glances behind us and then starts running faster it seems. "Too close." he says, sounding terrified.

I pick up the pace, even though my lungs felt like they were about to explode and my legs about to turn to jelly.

Spiky gives one of those signature bone-chilling shrieks of his and I hear him getting closer to us. That's when I go all out on running. I had come way too far just to let this thing eat me. I wasn't going to put up with it.

"Isn't there any way we can kill it?" I ask.

"There is, but we don't have any weapons that would work on it." he says.

"What about that spike from the car? Did you bring it with you?" I ask.

His eyes widen and he pulls the spike out of his back pocket. How he'd been running with that thing in his pocket without it stabbing him, I don't know.

"Give it to me." I say, holding out my hand that wasn't carrying Oliver.

He looks at me and then gives it to me. I wrap my fingers around the rough, burnt spike. It felt like tons of little needles were poking at my skin, not piercing my skin, but putting pressure on it.

I glance behind me and see that Spiky was only a few feet behind us. I turn all the way around and start running backwards. I search it's body for a weak spot and I finally find one.

Most of his body was covered in those spikes, except one small piece. Where a person's belly button would be, there was clear space there on Spiky. I decided that that was most likely the vulnerable spot on him.

I aim the spike, praying to whatever gods were watching me, and then throw the spike. It whistles through the air and then pierces his ashy gray flesh.

He pauses for a second and then leaps forward. I drop to the ground, covering my head. A shadow passes over me and I look up.

Jordan had stopped and was stuck still, nearly in shock it seemed. Spiky hurtled through the air and then sliced at Jordan's chest. He collapses to the ground, screaming in agony. Then Spiky sort of dissolves into a yellow powder. One of his spikes, a rather large one, falls to the ground and into the pile of dust.

I get to my feet and rush over to Jordan. He was curled up in a ball and barely moving.

"Jordan." I say, getting onto my knees and rolling him over.

I examine the gashes on his chest and they looked pretty bad. There were three of them and they were really deep.

"Keegan." he says, his voice hoarse.

"Yea?" I ask, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

"Tell me honestly, how bad is it?" he asks.

"It's pretty bad." I say.

"Alright, help me up." he says, holding out his hands.

"Jordan, are you sure?" I ask.

"Just do it." he grunts.

"Okay, okay." I say, grabbing his hands and pulling him up.

"Gah!" he yells.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Does it look like I'm alright? Here, help me get this off." he says, motioning to his plaid shirt.

I tug it off of him and then turn to him for more instructions.

"Alright, now sorta fold it up into a bandage and wrap it as tightly as you can around the gashes and use the sleeves to tie it in the back." he says.

I do as he says and tie it extremely tightly around his chest. Then I help him to his feet and he leans against me.

"How much farther are we?" I ask. I didn't think he could go much further. He needed help.

"Almost there. Just at the end of that road there's a hill with a pine tree on top. Go just past the tree and you're there." he says, breathing heavily.

"Then let's go. You need help." I say, dragging him forward.

**A/N:**

**Well, I'm pretty sure you guys were expecting our spiky buddy to show up sooner or later. Did you think it would've clawed Jordan like it did, or were you not expecting that? They'll be at Camp in the next chapter! I think tomorrow's just a bit of a filler, but oh well. You gotta have 'em in every story.**

**Sorry for the late update. Today's been a pretty long and tiring day. Not bad really, just long. I stayed up til 3 AM last night, surprisingly not reading. I did read last night, but I stopped at about 12. Then I started watching Supernatural and-yea, it just went on from there. I got through with disk one out of the six there are in the first season, and then I watched the second one tonight with my mom. I think she's going to like this show, and I can already tell that it's going to be one of my new obsessions.**

**So I was a bit sleepy today, and I think I hallucinated a couple of times, but that's veering away from my day. My mom and I went shopping and had lunch and by the time we got back home, I had just enough time to change my shoes and then I was off to pottery. **

**I had a few really good conversations about anime and Halloween and costumes and a bunch of other stuff with this other girl in my class. She's been there for a while, but we really don't talk very much. Any time we do, I wonder why we don't hang out at all because she's pretty fucking awesome.**

**Oh, and I forgot to mention. My pottery teacher called me this morning and told me that one of her friend's moms was looking for a couple of people to help her with a snow cone stand at the Fall Festival we have every year. It's starting tomorrow, so my friend and I are going to help this lady and her husband. I think it'll be fun, but I'm a bit nervous 'cause it's my first time doing an actual job that I'm being paid for...I'm a tad terrified that I'll mess something up...**

**So anyway, after class tonight, my mom picked me up and she needed to drop by work to pick something up. I was waiting for her and just catching up on an hour and half of missed Internet stuff and one of the newer employees walked up to me. She asked if I needed anything and I told her I was just waiting for my mom. I pointed to her and the girl looked at me and she looked pretty shocked, actually. She said, "****_That's _****your mom? I didn't know she had kids." **

**I really just wanted to smack her. I mean, I've been there ****_several _****times since she started working there and my mom has come up to me a lot while she's been working. How could she ****_not _****know I was her daughter? Anyway, (sorry again. I'm veering away from the story, this tends to happen when I'm really tired) she stayed and talked to me for a few minutes and I swear, I am one of the most awkward people when it comes to talking to someone face-to-face. I get extremely quiet and and I usually answer questions in the most vague way. I dunno why, I guess I just get really shy around people I don't know very well.**

**So then she asked me if I liked to do anything. I asked her what she meant and she said, "Well, do you like to go shopping or get your hair or nails done?" I told her that I liked to shop and then she smiled at me and said, "Well, would you like to go shopping with me sometime?" **

**Now, I'm gonna be honest. I really don't like turning someone down when they ask me to do something, 'cause I'm afraid I'll let them down or hurt their feelings. So, I told her that would be fun and her smile got bigger and she gave me a napkin and a pen and told me to give her my number. So I did, along with my name. **

**Then, before she got back to work, she smiled at me again and said, "I think you're really cool, and I think we're gonna be really good friends." **

**That little sentence really just shocked me. Actually, no. The whole thing shocked me. Her coming up to me and just pretty much directly asking me if we could go shopping together sometime and then ending it with that she's thinks I'm cool and that we're going to be good friends. I mean, ****_that just doesn't happen to me. _****No one's ever done that before and, to be honest, it freaked me out a little. I mean, it was a pleasant shocked (if there is such a thing). But I mean, do any of you know what I mean? Like, I really don't have that many friends and just having someone walk up to me and ask if they could be. I mean, just wow. I'm still a bit shocked that it actually happened.**

**So that was pretty much my day. Then tomorrow my friend and I have to be up at the snow cone place at about 11:30 so we can learn what to do and then start working at 12. I reeeeeally hope I don't mess anything up. I'd probably die on the spot. **

**Now I think I'm gonna read for a little bit and then go to bed, so I won't hallucinate tomorrow. If anything were to mess me up, that would be it. My mind's been a bit crazy lately (crazier than usual, if you can believe it) and I've been having some ****bizarre dreams/nightmares (mostly nightmares) and they're not exactly putting me in good moods. Hopefully I'll have a nice dream tonight of being on the beach or in the mountains with a hot guy. That would be nice, really nice.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**

**P.S.**

**Not doing an M/A tonight 'cause I'm too tired to write anymore and I feel like this A/N is already long enough :p**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Help! Help, please!" I call, breathless.

I had crossed the pine tree border and had headed down into the valley. The place looked deserted, which seemed odd to me.

I look ahead and see a sort of Greek style building, except there wasn't a roof on it. I thought that was a bit peculiar. The inside was all lit up and even from where I was I could hear people chattering inside. That must be where everyone is. But I didn't have time to think about going down there, Jordan was fading fast.

"Help!" I scream.

"Hello? Who's there?" someone calls from inside the big, barn-like house beside me.

"Please, help him." I say, turning to the steps.

Someone emerges from inside and comes down the steps. It was a guy who looked to be about sixteen or so. His hair was golden and his eyes were sky blue with little golden flecks, the color of sun beams. He was tanned rather nicely and his arms were muscular.

"Oh gods. C'mon, let's get him to the infirmary and you can tell me what happened." he says, taking some of Jordan's weight and leading the way to the infirmary.

* * *

When we had gotten to the infirmary, the guy had helped me set Jordan on a bed and then he had rushed out to get someone called "Chiron."

He had told me to stay with Jordan and keep him awake until he got back.

About five minutes later, I hear footsteps outside and what sounded like hooves clopping on the steps.

The guy emerges and he's followed by a guy on a horse. I thought this was odd, then I looked closer and nearly fainted. He wasn't _on_ a horse. He _was_ the horse. He was a centaur.

The centaur, who I assume is Chiron, quickly comes over to Jordan and I and takes the improvised bandage off of his chest. He inspects the gashes and then rushes over to a wooden cabinet and grabs a couple of glass vials filled with different colored liquids.

"Hey, come over here and tell me where you came from." the guys says.

I glance at Jordan and then get up from the chair I had been sitting in. I follow the guy outside and we look around at the camp.

"I'm Will, by the way. Will Solace." he says.

"Keegan Lumen." I say.

"Now, tell me about your friend in there." he says.

So I started telling him everything. What happened to my parents, having Denise as a god-mom, running away and bumping into Jordan in that warehouse and getting high. Then everything that happened after that up until now.

When I was done, I was exhausted. Mostly from all the running I did today, but partly from retelling that story.

I didn't even know I was crying until Will laid a hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eyes, and said, "It's gonna be okay now, Keegan. You're safe and no one can hurt you now."

I sniffle and wipe the tears off of my face, embarrassed. "How do you know that?" I ask.

"I just do. No monster or mortal can cross the camp borders. Only demigods." he says.

"C'mon, let's go get you some food. I'm sure you're pretty hungry." he says.

I look back inside the infirmary. Jordan was still laying on the bed and Chiron was frantically mixing up medications and applying them to the gashes on his chest.

"He'll be fine in Chiron's hands. Come on." he says, patting me on the back.

I give a small sigh and tear my eyes away from Jordan and follow Will. I hoped he was right about being safe now. That's all I wanted, just to be safe and okay for once.

**A/N:**

**Well, like I said last night, this was a sort of a filler. You got to know what Keegan's last name is though! Tomorrow's chapter isn't a filler, trust me.**

**So working at the snow cone thing wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I only messed up one and that was my first one. There were two other girls working with me and my friend, so we weren't completely overwhelmed with people when the rushes came. **

**Now, I'm gonna write for a little bit (because I ****_really _****need to) while I watch some Supernatural. Ahh, it's so good! It's like Creepypasta, PJO, and TMI all mixed together and it's just awesome! **

**And I didn't read any more of HoH last night because I was so tired, but I plan of reading tonight, and hopefully finishing the book tomorrow. To tell you how tired I was last night, I didn't stay up past 12:30, which is extremely weird for me. I think I had another nightmare last night because I woke up several times, but I don't remember it, which I guess is a good thing. **

**M/A:**

**Some people just really don't know what they're talking about when it comes it music. Yesterday at class, I brought Circa Survive's album "Blue Sky Noise" with me and popped it in the CD player. Well, the second song on it (Get Out) came on and it's one of my favorites on the album. **

**The reason being, Anthony Green (lead singer) mixes his singing with just a bit of screamo. Not much at all really, but the older of the two brothers that I've talked about before said from his wheel, "Screamo? ****_Really?" _****And I said, "It's not that bad, and the whole thing isn't screamo. It's just in a few places." And then this "I'm better than you just 'cause I'm a year older than you" girl got all technical and said, "Well, he's screaming ****_now." _**

**I swear, I wanted to punch her in the face. I understand perfectly well that a lot of people don't like rock/punk/alternative/screamo music. I'm perfectly fine with that and I'm not going to force the music I listen to on them. But goddammit, my teacher said I could put that CD in and play it and I'll be dammed if I don't! I'm going to do what my teacher says is okay, not what the other students tell me to do. My teacher is actually fine with most music, just as long as it doesn't have any noticeable swear words in it because we usually have her daughter and one of her friend's at the studio.**

**So anyway, today's song is "Get Out," obviously. And I pretty much just explained at the top why I like it, that and also it's just a really fucking catchy song.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Will had taken me to the building that didn't have a roof. Apparently this was the mess hall where everyone ate. He had told me to wait out on the steps, and then he ran in.

A few minutes later, he emerges with two plates heaping full of smoked brisket, strawberries, rolls, and green beans.

"Here." he says, handing me a plate and a fork and knife.

"Thanks." I say.

"Don't mention it." he says, smiling at me, "Come on, we can go eat in the Big House."

"The Big House?" I ask, following him down the steps.

"Yea, that house up there where I found you. We call that the Big House. It's where all the cabin counselors have meetings, the guest rooms are up there, and Chiron and Mr. D live in there too." he explains.

"Who's Mr. D?" I ask.

"The camp director. He's actually the god Dionysus." he says.

"What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be on Olympus?" I ask, confused.

He snickers and grins at me. "Well, he _should_ be. But he chased after an off-limits wood nymph and his punishment from Zeus was that he had to be here for 100 years, without drinking any wine or other alcoholic drinks. After the second Titan war in New York this past August, Zeus cut the time in half, so he'll only be here for 50 years." he says.

"Titan war in New York?" I ask.

"Yea, the mortals didn't really know about it though. I mean, the city was in shambles, but they just assumed that it had been a terrorist attack or something." he says.

We had reached the Big House and were walking inside. Will sits down on the big couch and motions for me to sit as well.

"So this Jordan guy seems pretty special to you." he says.

"What?" I ask.

"The way you were looking at him earlier, I got the vibe that you cared a lot about him, even though you barely know him." he says, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

"Well, even though I haven't known him very long, I feel like we've been through a lot, y'know?" I say.

"Yea. I know. There were a lot of people I got pretty close to in New York that I'd hardly ever talked to here. We lost some of them." he says, his eyes darkening.

I'd only met him about an hour ago, but I already liked Will. He seemed like a really good guy.

"I'm sor—" before I can finish, Chrion comes in.

"Keegan, Jordan wants to talk to you." he says, his brown eyes held years of sadness and pity in them.

"Alright." I say, my stomach tying itself into knots. The way he said it made it sound like Jordan wasn't doing so well.

I get up from the couch and exit the Big House, quickly going down the steps and hurrying to the infirmary.

When I reach it, I go inside and over to Jordan's bed. He opens his eyes and smiles when I sit down in the chair beside his bed.

"Are you going to be alright?" I ask, hearing the worry in my voice.

"You want the sugarcoated answer, or the real answer?" he asks, his voice sounding weak.

I sigh. "The real answer." I say, preparing for the blow I knew I was about to receive.

"He was able to close the wounds, but they had been there too long and I've lost too much blood." he says.

"So you're not gonna be here with me for much longer." I say, feeling tears prick my eyes.

"Sad to say, but yea. Keegs, I gotta say, you're a pretty awesome guy." he says.

"Jordan, can I ask you something?" I ask.

"Sure." he says.

"Who's your godly parent?" I ask.

He smirks at me, his maple syrup colored eyes twinkling with mischief. "Hermes." he says.

"I'm not, really." I say, looking down at my hands.

"Not really what?" he asks.

"All that great." I say.

"Yes, you are." he says, putting a hand under my chin and forcing me to look at him.

Tears roll down my face. I had tried stopping them, but it hadn't worked. I had lost Oliver just a couple of days ago, and now I was loosing him. Everyone I loved in my life had just seemed to get up and die on me. I didn't want to loose Jordan too, even though I knew I was going to.

"Don't cry, Keegs. I don't want you to mourn over me." he says, wiping them away with his thumb.

"Come closer." he says.

I lean down and he leans up and kisses me softly on my lips. I pull back, shocked. I wasn't necessarily _mad_ that he had kissed me, it just caught me off-guard. Yellow light pours over Jordan and the smile on his face widens.

"I know I've only known you a couple of days, but gods, I love you Keegan. Even if you don't love me, I love you, son of Apollo. I'll see ya in the afterlife. Just wait a while before coming down to meet me, will ya?" he says.

Then he closes his eyes, a sweet smile still on his lips, and he stops breathing.

**A/N:**

**I TOLD YOU THERE WERE FEELS AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! I TOLD YOU! Seriously, when I was writing this last week sometime, I was doing my best to keep it together. You ever get like that? When you're writing something sad, but it isn't ****_devastatingly _****sad, yet you feel like breaking down and sobbing in a corner for hours anyway?**

**Oh, and did you see that kiss coming? It was like a last minute thing I decided to add when I was originally finishing writing this chapter, and I thought it fit in quite well with where this story is headed.**

**Also, I just finished writing this story, so we'll be starting A New Beginning within a few days! I'm soooo excited for you guys to read it! It starts out a little slow, but y'know, most new stories do.**

**So it just hit me today how fucking dedicated I am to pottery, or any art really. I mean I put up with so much shit from those two brothers and some of the other students, and have been for quite some time, yet I still go because I love to do it. It's a part of me, like writing is a part of me. I'm seriously considering asking my teacher if I can start coming on different days during the week, because I am getting so sick and tired of those two brothers. **

**They've finally come to the conclusion that I'm "evil" and I always give them "glares of doom like I want them to die." Okay, really. I may not ****_love _****them, they definitely aren't my favorite two people on the planet and I would do just fine if I didn't have to see them every week, but that doesn't mean I want them to die. I mean, really. And my little trick of just ignoring them doesn't seem to work anymore, so I need to figure out something else soon, otherwise I might just end up going off on one of 'em.**

**Six hours of sleep is not enough. Yes, I stayed up til about 4 last night...Watching Supernatural...I TOLD YOU GUYS. IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER ONE THAT RUINS MY LIFE. I only have three more episodes and then I'm done with the first season though ^_^ **

**I'm so excited to start the second one! I'm not going to watch anymore today though. I'm going to finish HoH, even if it kills me. **

**M/A:**

**The Smiths are just so awesome! And I think I've gotten my mom liking them too, so that's a plus :3**

**My favorite song by them is "Asleep" from their album "Louder Than Bombs." It's just such a soothing, slow song and it's just awesome. It calms you down, y'know? Sometimes I really love songs like that, and other times I can't stand listening to them. It just depends on my mood or if I want to go to sleep or if I need to stay up and do something. **

**Like if I want to go to sleep, I listen to slow music with a soft beat. If I want to stay awake, I listen to rock and punk, stuff with really hard beats. Loud music, I guess you'd say.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Two weeks later, I knew pretty much all the people I cared to know. I had washed Jordan's worn, plaid shirt, and I had put it in my trunk in the Apollo cabin.

I had planted Oliver in a pot and put it in the window sill where it got plenty of sunlight. I had asked one of the girls from the Demeter cabin if they knew what kind of plant he had been turned into, and she had told me he was an olive tree. I had laughed at the irony of it. Oliver the olive tree, a perfect fit.

She told me that I'd need to plant it soon though, because satyr plants grow much faster than regular plants. That had been nearly a week and a half ago and I was _still_ trying to find the right spot.

"Hey, Keegan. Ready for archery?" Will asks, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Yea." I say, placing my toothbrush back in it's spot.

I come out of the bathroom and grab my bow made of red oak and my quiver of arrows. Will had taken me to the weapon shed the day after arriving. He had said, "Who better to help a son of Apollo pick out a weapon than another son of Apollo?"

I walk out of the cabin, quickly glancing at Oliver before walking out, then close the door behind me, being the last one out.

Will, Danielle, Austin, and Kayla were a bit ahead, though Will was lacking behind a little, waiting up for me.

"Ready for another day?" he asks when I catch up with him.

"Yea, I suppose." I say, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"What's wrong, Keegan? You've been pretty down the whole week. Did Jordan say something to you before he, you know." he says, lowing his voice so the others couldn't hear him.

"It was nothing." I say, brushing him off.

I didn't want to tell him about kissing Jordan or what he had told me after, nor did I ever want to tell anyone else. It was just too privet to go around telling everyone about it.

"Alright. Well, you know if you ever want to talk, I'm here." he says, patting me on the back.

"Yea, I know." I sigh.

* * *

After training that day and during my free time, I went down to the docks. I see something that I hadn't noticed was there before.

Out in the middle of the lake, there was a small patch of land. From what I could tell, it was bare except for the little sandy area and a grassy part.

I suddenly had an idea. I stand up from the dock and hurry back to the cabin. I grab Oliver off of the window sill and then I go to the tool shed and grab a small spade.

Then I go back to the dock and get into a canoe. I start paddling my way over to the little island.

When I get there, I leave Oliver and the spade in the boat and hop out, dragging the canoe onto the shore. When I'm satisfied that it won't float away and leave me stranded, I grab Oliver and the spade.

I find a spot in the middle of the island and get onto my knees, and I start digging a small hole. After about five minutes, I look at the hole and decide that it was deep enough.

I toss the spade aside and carefully take Oliver out of the pot, placing him in the hole. Then I cover him up with the dirt, making sure it was packed tight and also that the roots weren't exposed.

When I finish, I stand up and observe the small plant. It had gotten a lot bigger since arriving to Camp, but it was still small.

I grab the spade and then go back to the canoe. I push it off the shore and hop in, then start paddling back to the dock. I felt happier now, like something had been put behind me and I could move on now.

**A/N:**

**Heh heh. Does anyone remember this small island? I thought it was perfect, especially since Oliver had transformed into an olive tree when he died. Tomorrow we start time-jumping again...**

**So I've figured out something. When it comes to rough, real life situations, a lot of people would just break down sobbing. I usually don't unless I've been pushed way to far and I've kept my emotions bottled up inside for a ****_long _****time. But, when it comes to fictional characters (TV or book characters, either one), I'll cry like a baby if a character I adore gets hurt or dies. Weird, I know. Like, I almost feel like family has died or something if a fictional character gets hurt.**

**On that happy note, I finished HoH last night...THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER LIFE-RUINER, RICK! UGH. NOW I HAVE TO WAIT (along with every one else in this fandom) ANOTHER FUCKING YEAR FOR THE NEXT, AND FINAL, BOOK. THANK YOU RICK RIODAN FOR RUINING MY LIFE WITH YOUR PERFECT BOOKS.**

**But really, it was awesome. I loved the ending this time, and everything was just perfect. BUT I'M STILL PISSED THAT I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR FOR THE LAST ONE!**

**So tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut and colored again. It's been driving me crazy 'cause it's at that length that is nearly impossible to handle and it just looks extremely shaggy all the time. I was thinking about going turquoise, but after Friday at the snow cone stand, I'm pretty sick and tired of all these strangers coming up to me and saying, "Oh my gosh! I love your hair!" So I'm gonna go platinum, I think it'll look really kick ass. My pottery teacher told me that I would look "haunting" if I got my hair dyed white. She said because my eyes are so green, I would look like a ghost or something. I think that sounds pretty fucking rad, so why not? **

**And good god, it gets so annoying really when people come up to me and ask, "Can I get your picture for the paper?" I mean really, I have no clue how many times I've been in my town's local paper when it's involving art. Yesterday was the second day of the Fall Festival and I was at class. I was starting to clean up and this guy came up and just started taking pictures of me. Then he came back a few minutes later and asked me if I was going to do anything else. I told him I was cleaning up and he looked all disappointed and then he asked, "Can you ****_pretend _****you're doing something?" I laughed and told him I needed to touch up a few of my pots so he took pictures of me while I was doing that. He told me I may or may not make it, but I really don't care if I do or not. **

**Also yesterday, I was on the wheel and my friend was sitting next to me. Our teacher was watching two little girls while their mom looked around at all the art displays downtown. So we're sitting there, talking and stuff, and these two little girls (they were about 4 and 5) just come over and start watching us. They stood there for a good five minutes, just watching us. Then my friend leaned over to me and said, "One of them just said, 'Which girl are you watching?'" I mean, it kinda creeped me out. And after that they watched us for a while longer then they walked away. **

**M/A:**

**So a couple of weeks ago I got 30 Seconds to Mars' album "Love Lust Faith + Dreams." I've ****_just now_**** started listening to it for some reason, and it's awesome! Like Grouplove's new album that I talked about a few days ago, I can't decide what my favorite song is yet on it. **

**It's a tie between ****Birth****, ****Conquistador****, and ****Northern Lights****.**

**Conquistador**** sounds like it would be one of the songs in Supernatural, I dunno why, it just does to me. **

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**  
**Two Years Later**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"You promised, Will!" I scream at him.

"Promised you what?!" he yells back, his eyes wide and confused.

"You promised that I would be safe here! That nothing would hurt me!" I say, hot, angry tears streaming down my face.

"When did I promise that?" he asks.

"Right after I got here. Right before Jor—" I choke. I couldn't even say his name.

Remembrance dawns on Will's face in the silvery moonlight. "Keegs, I'm sorry. I—I forgot about that." he says, looking down at his feet.

"How could you?" I whisper, turning away from him.

"Keegan, I'm sorry. Monsters rarely show up at the boarders. This time—this time was different." he says, his voice quiet.

"Damn right it was different. It's all because of Kyra. She led that fucking empousa and her army of monsters here." I growl.

"Now, hold on a second, Keegan. It's not her fault. That empousa was hunting her. She already got a hold of Kyra's brother, and she just wanted to finish the two of 'em off." he says.

"And what makes you so sure about that?! She's new here, and she coulda just brought that demon here on purpose!" I say, spinning around and looking at him again.

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Keegan, really. You're being ridiculous." he says.

"Oh, _I'm_ the one being ridiculous?!" I shriek.

"Yes, you are. You were new here two years ago. Did anyone distrust _you_? No, they didn't. You're being unfair to Kyra." he says.

"I'm being—" I stop and sit down on one of the logs by the dying campfire.

"Gods, I just—I dunno what to do with myself, Will." I say, resting my head in my hands.

He sits down next to me. "What's the matter? I know you don't actually believe the things you said about Kyra. What's wrong?" he asks.

"I just—Jordan, I miss him. A lot." I admit.

"Well, yea. You should. He was your friend and he died." he says.

"No, he wasn't my friend." I say, my voice shaky.

"What are you talking about, Keegan? Of course he was your friend." he says.

"No. I—I've never told anyone this before but, he kissed me." I say, my voice just barely a whisper.

"_What_?" he asks, shocked.

"He kissed me, right before he died. And then Apollo claimed me, and the light of the orb lit up Jordan's face and he smiled at me and told me he loved me." I say, brushing my finger tips over my lips, as if I could still feel Jordan's lips against mine.

"Oh. So he was like, _more_ than a friend." he says.

"I guess. I dunno. We only kissed that one time, and then he died. But the more time that goes by and the more that I think about it, the more that I'm sure that I actually loved him, like he loved me. I just didn't know it at the time. I guess I'm just angry." I say.

"About what?" he asks.

"That all these other campers that stumble in here all the time get here safely, and even if they've got wounds, they heal, and they live. Jordan didn't live, and it makes me angry. Angry at him, at myself that I couldn't save him. Just angry with everything." I say.

"You'll see him again someday." he says.

I look up at at Will. There was such determination in his voice and eyes that it was impossible not to believe him.

"Yea, okay." I sigh, nodding.

"Now, c'mon. The others are in bed already, I'm sure. They're probably wondering where we are." he says, grabbing my arm and dragging me up with him.

We head back to the Apollo cabin in silence, the moonlight lighting our way with its soft, silvery light.

**A/N:**

**Told ya, time jump. Poor Keegan. He's just so confused and angry, and it's all been bottled up inside for two years. There's another slight time jump tomorrow, but it's not as drastic as this one.**

**I really don't have much of an excuse for the late update today except that I was just being lazy :3**

**So I got my hair done this morning (I was half asleep for most of it since I only got four and a half to five hours of sleep last nigh, I was quite surprised I wasn't hallucinating most of the day) and it's now white! Actually, more along the lines of blonde, but it's closer to white than blonde. It looks pretty fucking rad, I think I actually like it better than the blue.**

**Oh, by the way, we've only got three more chapters in this story! Feels like it's just gone by in the blink of an eye. It sorta has, I guess, since I've been updating it every day. **

**M/A:**

**Not doing an M/A tonight 'cause I don't feel like it :p**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Keegan, I swear to God, you're never going back to that summer program." Denise says, glaring at me.

I sigh and roll my eyes. It had been the same last year when I had come back, except with much hitting and scratching.

"I don't care what you say. I'll be an adult next year, you won't have any power over me then, I can do whatever I want." I say.

"That's what you think." she says.

"What do you mean? I'm totally right about that!" I yell.

She grins at me and her eyes start to glow red. I stumble back, trying to grab my bow from it's carrying case.

The next thing that happened made me want to throw up. Her skin peeled off and fell to the floor, almost like it had rotted off her bones. Her long hair fell out in clumps, leaving nothing but a bloody scalp. Spikes started growing all over her body. With a sudden horror, I knew what had happened.

Standing before me now, Denise's bloody flesh all around it, stood Spiky himself. The thing that had caused Jordan's death nearly three years ago.

I fumble with an arrow and notch it, firing at the thing. It shattered against the spikes. Then I remembered, you had to fire at its vulnerable spot. I look at its stomach and see that the bare spot that I had pierced last time wasn't there. It must move every time this thing regenerates.

I move around it and look for it, all the while it's trying to stab me with its deadly spikes.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I find it. It was on the inside of its left thigh.

I drop to the floor, sliding on my side, and fire an arrow. It hits it's target and Spiky screeches. I grit my teeth and clamp my hands over my ears, trying to block the awful sound out.

A minute later, the screeching stops and I open my eyes and take my hands off of my ears. Piles of sulfurous monster dust littered the room.

I shakily get back onto my feet, breathing heavily, and look around at my childhood house one last time. I go back over to my bags that I'd left by the door and pick them up.

I wasn't coming back here again.

**A/N:**

**Well, do you think Denise got what she deserved after all she'd done to Keegan? I think she did. If you didn't understand exactly happened with Denise transforming into Spiky, that's explained in chapter 19, the epilogue.**

**Every time I go to the orthodontist, the more I'm convinced that it's actually just an excuse for the doctor to torture you. I had a readjustment this morning and my bottom teeth were too tight, causing the gums on the bottom to get inflamed. So, the remedy to this was to ****_drill in between the teeth and make small gaps. _****Oh man, that was awful. It didn't hurt, it just felt really ****_really _****weird. Then, they had to put this thing called a chain on the bottom teeth so they'd start moving together and closing those gaps they had just made. ****_That _****hurt. And I imagine with my teeth moving with that thing on, they'll be really sore for the next few days. ****_Joy. _**

**And not much else has really happened today. I think I'm gonna be going to work with my mom later today, so I may or may not do another update on this story later on. We'll just have to see. **

**M/A:**

**So I don't listen to much Coldplay, but I gotta say, I absolutely adore their song ****Fix You****. Like, it's just so beautiful.**

_**"'When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want, but not what you need  
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse**_

And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you'"

**Like, you can't read those lyrics and tell me they ****_aren't _****beautiful. **

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**  
**Four Years Later**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Keegan." she growls.

"Hello there, dear sister." I say, walking over to her and that Mo guy.

"You know, I never thought you would of joined the monsters." she says.

I glare at her. "_They_ are not the monsters. We are; we demigods." I say. Something inside me told me I was wrong, but I fought against it.

"How are _we_ the monsters? We _protect_ other people from these creatures. All they do is kill." she protests.

I clench my fists. She just didn't understand. She never did, and she never will. Some monsters are harmless, but the demigods kill them anyway just because it's something to kill.

"Drew!" I yell.

"Drew?" Kyra asks, surprised.

Drew clicks over in her disguise, that girl Gwen. I didn't think she could of picked a more hideous dress, but Callie had told her to pick whatever she wanted.

"_Gwen_?" Mo says, baffled.

"That's right." she says, smiling.

She starts to change, a process I had seen many times since her transformation, it still creeped me out a little. Her skin starts darkening to a scaly greenish-brown, fingers elongating and baring black talons. Her hair goes from it's frizzy brown to flames.

She looks up and her eyes are that evil glowing red. I shiver, feeling like I had seen eyes like that before. I shake the feeling off. There was a sinister smile on her face and she was baring her teeth, revealing two sharp canines.

Behind all the monstrous looks, you could still tell it was Drew. Callie treated her like a doll for some reason. She was like a princess that everyone had to treat like royalty, otherwise Callie would feed you to something.

"You like?" she asks, twirling around.

"Drew, how—what?" Kyra stutters, trying to wrap her mind around the drastic change.

"Callie helped me. She took me to a sorceress and had her change me. I'm a combination of an empousa and a dracanae. Isn't it great?!" she squeals.

I roll my eyes, then I see Kyra and her friend backing away from us. I give a small smile, seeing my cue.

"Release them!" I shout.

The gym doors slam open and all the teenagers who had been staring at us turn to look at the doors. I chuckle as all kinds of monsters pour in.

Everyone started screaming and running around like they had their heads cut off. Every so often, a monster would kill one of the teenagers, sometimes eating them and other times just laughing as they watched them die.

I throw my arms up in the air and spin around, laughing gleefully. Callie would be quite pleased with this. I look back at Kyra and see she and Mo looking at the massacre in horror. I smile and then walk away into the madness.

* * *

I had finally found the perfect spot to kill her. Callie had promised me that I would be the one to kill her, that is, if she hadn't been trampled, which she hadn't been.

I chuckle. I would finally get my revenge against Kyra for summoning Spike tou Thanatou, causing Jordan's death. After all these years, he'd finally be avenged. And when I brought back Kyra's cold, dead body, Callie would bring him back for me, and we could be happy.

I take out my bow and retrieve an arrow from the ground, one of Kyra's I assume. I notch it and aim. Then, just as I'm about to release it, Mo screams her name.

"Fuck." I say.

She turns around and sees me. She freezes, her eyes widening as if she were shocked that I had been about to shoot her. I smirk at her, and she gets a furious look on her face. She takes an arrow out of her quiver and notches it.

"Ah, so it's going to be like this, huh?" I say under my breath.

I could see that she didn't want to shoot me, but I had given her no other choice. She would be dead within a couple of seconds though, so I didn't really care what she thought.

I release my arrow at the same time she releases hers. Before I can react, Mo jumps in front of her and takes my arrow for her. He falls to the ground at the same time I do.

The arrow piercing my chest hurt like hell, but I wasn't dead yet.

"Drew!" I scream over the madness going on around me.

She's by my side in an instant. She looks down at me and then over at Kyra on her knees looking at Mo.

"Oh boy. Callie will _not_ be happy with you." she says, a smug look on her face.

"Shut the fuck up and get me out of here." I grunt.

She rolls her eyes, but she bends down and yanks the arrow out. I repress the scream in my throat and bite my lip. She pulls me to my feet and practically drags me out.

I didn't care what it took, I was going to get Jordan back and the only way to do that was to kill Kyra. I couldn't fail.

**A/N:**

**Another time jump, forgot to mention it in the last chapter. Sorry about that.**

**So, blast from the past, anyone? Well, actually, Prom from Hell really wasn't ****_that _****long ago, but it feels like it was. **

**I assume you guys are all ****_really _****confused as to what Keegan was going on about Kyra summoning Spiky to kill Jordan. All is explained in the next chapter... I think I'm gonna upload that one too, 'cause I really can't wait to see what everyone thinks about it...**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**  
**Seventeen Years Later**

* * *

_"I can't believe you failed me. This is the third time you've failed at killing her." Callie growls._

_"Callie, I'm sorry. I promise I'll get her next time." I say, pulling at the leather straps binding my wrists to the chair._

_"No, there won't be a next time." she says, running her fingers over the knobs that control the shocking feature on this chair._

_"Wh-what do you mean?" I stutter, feeling beads of sweat on my neck. I'd felt the bite of this chair before, and I'd seen what it could do when it was used on other people who had _really _pissed off Callie._

_"You've failed me three times now, Keegan. I'm afraid I can't risk this again. I'm growing impatient. I've been trying to kill this brat and her family for years now, and I want to finish them off once and for all. I'm going to do it myself." she says._

_"But Cal—" I'm cut off by my own screaming._

_Shocks of electricity surged all through my body in painful blasts. It felt like every inch of my body was being stabbed with needles._

_"You want to know something?" she asks._

_I shakily turn my head over to her and she smirks at me._

_"I never intended on bringing your beloved Jordan back to you. If you had died, you would have been sent to Punishment with all the things I've ordered you to do. You never would of seen him again anyway, and he would have been waiting forever for a day that would never come." she says, laughing._

_"AAHH!" I scream, arching my back as she turned the controls up even more._

_"And you want to know another thing?" she coos, coming over to me and caressing my sweaty face._

_"_What_?" I ask, gritting my teeth._

_"Kyra didn't cause his death. That monster had been following you since you were ten years old, it just never pounced on you. I talked it into killing Jordan. It got impatient five years ago and killed Denise. It used her corpse as a disguise and lived with you, planning on when to kill you. Then, when it finally decided to reveal itself, its plan backfired and _you_ killed it. Kyra had nothing to do with it. She didn't summon it from the pits of Tartarus. She didn't even know what our world really was at that point in time." she says, chuckling._

_"You—you lied to me. You did it all!" I scream. It was becoming harder to talk, my jaw felt like it was about to get stuck shut._

I shake my head, snapping out of the flash back. I had promised myself I would never revisit that day in my head again, but sometimes my head did it to me anyway, just to torture me, I guess. I deserved it after everything I had done though.

I look at myself in the bathroom mirror. I hadn't shaved in a couple of days, so I had a nice beard going on. I examine it, and then shrug, deciding to leave it there.

I look at my eyes. They were the same old light brown, flecked with yellow and a light orange. I had thought that surely after the whole thing with Callie they would of changed just the slightest bit, gotten darker maybe because of all the awful things I had done. But nothing had changed. Not my eyes or my hair or anything. I had looked just as I always had.

I felt awful about what I had done. Every day for the past seventeen years, I've regretted joining forces with Callie. I had ruined my relationship my Kyra and Nico, and everyone else back at Camp, at home. I had been tricked into thinking Jordan's death was on Kyra's hands, when really, she had just been a completely oblivious 13 year old at the time it had happened.

Everyone at Camp had thought I was dead when I really hadn't been. I had wished I was dead when Callie's guards had tossed me out on the street, still steaming slightly and my hair sticking up from being electrocuted so many times. I had been surprised that I _wasn't_ dead. I mean, a person can take only so many shocks, electrical and non-electrical, without their heart stopping.

Ever since that day though, I've been determined to find Kyra and apologize to her. I didn't know if she was still alive even. The thought that Callie had overpowered her years ago had crossed my mind several times. But I had to find her. Even if I was apologizing to a headstone, I just needed to let her know I was sorry.

**A/N:**

**IT'S DONE! THE STORY IS DONE! I REPEAT, THE STORY I E! Alright, so now you know that Kyra didn't summon Spiky to kill Jordan, but I'm pretty sure it was obvious she didn't do that to begin with. Callie just always seems to ooze back and trick people into doing things, doesn't she? It's like she never goes away.**

**I'm so excited! I'm going to start A New Beginning on Saturday! Now, we're going back to the normal update schedule of Tuesdays and Saturdays and some surprise updates every once and a while. This updating every day thing was tiring. I know, I know. I didn't ****_have _****to update every day, but I wanted to get this story done and out there. I feel quite accomplished, actually :3**

**Have you ever been so obsessed with a book or a show that when you're dragged away from reading or watching it, you go through like withdrawals? Well, that's what's happening to me right now. I swear, when I catch up with Supernatural, I will die. It's exhausting, ****_but I can't stop watching. _****I'm almost done with the second season, only six episodes left, I think. And I've already rented the third, minus the last disk because I passed my checkout limit at the movie store. Ugh. It's just so awesome! It would be so much easier if my mom went ahead and signed us up for Netflix, then I wouldn't have to go back and forth between the house and the store to drop off old disks and rent new ones all the time. I think I've gotten her convinced though, 'cause she likes movies and some shows just as much as I do. **


End file.
